Six Tigers Named to 1998 All-ACC Baseball Team

May 18, 1998

DURHAM — With six players each, Clemson and Georgia Tech head up the 1998 All-Atlantic Coast Conference first and second teams as selected by a vote of the nine head coaches. The teams, announced Saturday at the ACC Baseball Tournament, also includes five players from Duke, four from regular season champion Florida State, three each from North Carolina and N.C. State and two from tournament champion Wake Forest.

North Carolina’s Brian Roberts was tabbed ACC Player of the Year and Clemson’s Patrick Boyd was selected ACC Rookie of the Year, while Florida State’s Mike Martin was named league Coach of the Year by his peers.

A sophomore shortstop from Chapel Hill, N.C., Roberts is the first Tar Heel since Scott Bradley in 1980 to earn the league’s top honor and only the second former Rookie of the Year to be named the ACC Player of the Year.The NCAA leader in stolen bases entering the ACC Tournament, he broke the league single season record for steals on April 26 and two days later set a new school career record for stolen bases. He currently owns 107 career steals, including 60 during the 1998 campaign.

From the plate, Roberts helped lead the Tar Heels to a 39-20 record with a team-high batting average of .368. His 76 runs scored during the season ranks second-best in North Carolina annals behind B.J. Surhoff’s 77 in 1985. A starter in all 119 games since joining the program, he has compiled 86 hits, 20 doubles and 12 home runs during the 1998 year.

Tabbed in the preseason by Baseball America as the ACC Newcomer-of-the- Year, Boyd ranks among the Tigers’ top hitters currently batting .333, after starting his freshman season batting only .120 (3-for-25). Since that time, the Palm Harbor, Fla., outfielder has hit safely in 73 of 203 at bats (.360). Tied as Clemson’s leader in runs scored with 61 and RBIs with 57, he has hit eight home runs, a triple and 13 doubles starting in all 56 games.

For the second time in three years, Martin was named ACC Coach of the Year by his peers, after leading the Seminoles to a 48-16 record, including an 18-4 mark in league play to claim the school’s second regular season title. He became the 20th coach in NCAA Division I baseball history to win 1,000 games with a 4-3 win over Jacksonville on April 8. With only 19 seasons under his belt, he is the second fastest Division I coach to reach 1,000 victories. Martin’s career mark currently stands at 1017-346-3 for a winning percentage of .746.

1998 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Teams

First Team

Jeremy Salazar, Sr., Florida State, C; Jon Palmieri, Jr., Wake Forest, 1B; KURT BULTMANN, JR., CLEMSON, 2B; Jeff Becker, Jr., Duke, 3B; Brian Roberts, So., North Carolina, SS; Jake Weber, Sr., N.C. State, OF; MATT PADGETT, JR., CLEMSON, OF; Brian Cox, Sr., Florida State, OF; Jarrett Shearin, Jr., North Carolina, OF; Vaughn Schill, So., Duke, UT; Ed Conrey, So., Duke, DH; John Hendricks, Jr., Wake Forest, SP; Stephen Cowie, Jr., Duke, SP; Chuck Crowder, Jr., Georgia Tech, SP; SCOTT CLAKUM, SR., CLEMSON, RP.

Second Team

Brad Piercy, Jr., N.C. State, C; JASON HARRIS, JR., CLEMSON, 1B; Brian Ward, Jr., N.C. State, 2B; Heath Honeycutt, Jr., Georgia Tech, 3B; Jay Hood, Jr., Georgia Tech, SS; PATRICK BOYD, FR., CLEMSON, OF; Michael Fletcher, Sr., Duke, OF; Matt Diaz, Fr., Florida State, OF; Scott Prather, Jr., Georgia Tech, UT; Chris LaMarsh, Jr., North Carolina, DH; RYAN MOTTL, SO., CLEMSON, SP; Jon McDonald, Fr., Florida State, SP; L.J. Yankosky, Sr., Georgia Tech, SP; Jase Wrigley, Sr., Georgia Tech, RP.

ACC Player of the Year: Brian Roberts, North Carolina

ACC Rookie of the Year: PATRICK BOYD, CLEMSON

ACC Coach of the Year: Mike Martin, Florida State